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Ms. Smith brings Don Nelson to the podium to discuss his concerns about wind power. Mr. Nelson is bound by a gag order imposed when he sold his farm to Green Mountain Power, and declined to speak. Photo by Joseph Gresser

copyright the Chronicle February 10, 2016

by Joseph Gresser

MONTPELIER — The 80 or so supporters of Annette Smith who filled the Cedar Creek Room at the State House here Monday arrived spoiling for a fight.

Their emotion changed from anger to jubilation when Ms. Smith’s lawyer, David Sleigh, announced that the state Attorney General’s office had found no merit to allegations that she has been practicing law without a license.

Ms. Smith, who heads Vermonters for a Clean Environment (VCE), has worked with a number of individuals and towns opposing big wind and solar projects, including some in Orleans County. Although she does not speak on their behalf in proceedings before the Public Service Board (PSB), she does provide advice on the process, and she helps with documents and… To read the rest of this article, and all the Chronicle‘s stories, subscribe:

Governor Peter Shumlin announced a contract that would create helmet-building jobs in Newport earlier this month. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar

copyright the Chronicle 10-31-2012

by Bethany M. Dunbar

“When your hair is on fire, you don’t call for a moratorium while you go put your hair out,” said Governor Peter Shumlin.

Mr. Shumlin’s point is that the planet is facing a global crisis, and with oil going regularly up to $4 a gallon and the effects of climate change being felt everywhere including Vermont, “We can’t get off oil quickly enough.”

In the Northeast Kingdom two major wind turbine projects are — depending on your point of view — either a tribute to his efforts to make renewable energy happen quickly, or a symbol of top-down government that allows little local control.

One can’t say there is no local control involved because host towns have had an opportunity to vote on whether or not they want these projects.

“I happen to think they’re beautiful,” said Mr. Shumlin. “I am sympathetic and empathetic to those who are not in favor.”

He said any town that votes a project down should not have to host it, and he’s made that opinion clear to the three-member Public Service Board (appointed by the Governor) that makes decisions on wind projects.

“I think the Public Service Board process works,” he said.

All that doesn’t stop neighbors in towns that suffer equal or more effects from wind projects and don’t have a vote, and don’t get property tax benefits, from getting frustrated.

That frustration is part of the platform of two of the Governor’s opponents. Republican Randy Brock, formerly the state’s auditor and currently a state senator, supports a moratorium and says Vermont’s already got the cleanest energy portfolio of any state.

Randy Brock was in Barton on Tuesday to judge a pumpkin pie contest at the Barton Senior Center. He took the task seriously, creating a grid system on index cards for the four judges, where taste and crust would have twice as much weight in the judging as appearance and consistency. At left is the manager of the center, Brenda Sargent. Photo by Bethany M. Dunbar

“The whole industrial wind thing is an issue for so many people,” he said. He was one of the co-sponsors of the moratorium. “I don’t think we’ve really done the homework.”

“When we blow off the mountaintops it has an impact on all the surrounding towns and all of Vermont,” he said. “I’m concerned about the effect on the aesthetics and the ecosystems,” he said. “I’m also concerned about the economic issues.”

He said Vermont does not actually use much coal or oil. Mainly our electric power comes from nuclear power, natural gas, and hydroelectricity. Coal and oil account for only 3.3 percent of Vermont’s electrical energy, he said.

He said while he supports renewables for the future, “the technology isn’t here.” For one thing, it’s still too expensive, he said. That means by building it now, poor and working class Vermonters are footing the bill for corporations to get into renewables.

“What I see here is Robin Hood in reverse.”

He said building renewables in Vermont could cost the state jobs as the cost of electricity goes up too high, and companies like IBM start taking a closer look at their expenses. IBM pays 25 percent less for electricity in one nearby state and 50 percent less in Canada.

Annette Smith is the executive director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment. She got into the race for governor late — reluctantly at first, and mainly because people asked her to. She was narrowly defeated in the Primary for a Progressive nomination, which means her name is not on the ballot. But she is continuing as a write-in. The winner of the Progressive nomination, Martha Abbott, stepped down, saying the party agrees with Governor Shumlin on two of the issues most important to the party — closing the aging, dangerous Vermont Yankee nuclear plant and health care. Yet the party stopped short of endorsing Mr. Shumlin.

Ms. Smith said voters who want more local control should write in her name. She has a history of figuring out strategies for fighting back against corporations that seem to want to roll over the regular people at times.

“I do have a process that has worked and made me very effective,” she said. She said her preference is not to “break the rules but redefine the rules.”

“This campaign is not just about wind. It’s about local control.”

Asked her position on the jobs and the economy, she said, “I see nothing but opportunities in Vermont. We have a tremendously intellectual population and skilled people.”

She said a lot of people look at economic development as an effort to bring in large manufacturing companies, but she would like to see more new small ones starting up.

Annette Smith has been in the area often in her efforts with Vermonters for Clean Energy, but we did not manage to get a photograph. This one is courtesy of penwardenphotography.com.

“I see the capital we have right here in Vermont being put to use,” she said.

On that she and Mr. Brock agree. He said jobs and the economy are the number one issue for him.

“We’ve got to grow our economic pie instead of figuring out how to cut it up,” he said. He said his first task as Governor will be to go around to all the welcome centers and where the signs say, “Welcome to Vermont” he will add one underneath it: “Open for business.”

“We need to change the perception that Vermont isn’t open for business,” he said. He said Vermont is open, and the permits that developers need to obtain are not unnecessary. “Our environment is really important. We don’t want Vermont to look like New Jersey.” He said sometimes it’s a matter of changing the emphasis of people who handle the permit process. He said when a developer comes in the door, the state permit workers should adopt an attitude that the permits are important but “my job is to help you be successful.”

He would like to set up a micro loan program for people who are unemployed and want to start a business instead of just getting a job.

“We have a lot of talented people that are unemployed,” he said.

Mr. Shumlin gives high priority to job creation as well, and he points out that he’s had considerable success in that area. He said Vermont has the fifth lowest unemployment rate in the country, and is the only state that saw income growth in the past two years.

“I promised that I would focus on job creation like a laser,” he said. In Newport to celebrate a contract for helmets at the Revision Military helmet plant earlier this month, Governor Shumlin said, in an interview after the press conference, the recent announcement by Bill Stenger and others about 5,000 to 10,000 jobs for the area is wonderful news.

To those who are nervous about possible consequences from the development, Mr. Shumlin said fear of change is always going to be a factor for people, but this is good news. Put in perspective, 5,000 people is not a huge number, he said — Jay Peak might have that many on the slopes on a busy day in the winter.

“Let’s rejoice in the simple fact,” he said. Issues of infrastructure for those jobs can certainly be solved, he said.

Mr. Shumlin worked on a bill that changed the wording of state law to make Vermont government documents more open and accessible to the press and the public, and he said if re-elected he will continue those efforts.

There are currently over 200 exceptions to a state law that says government records should be open to the public. Instead of trying to comb through them all at once and get rid of unnecessary exceptions, the Governor said he wants to take one area at a time, starting with the courts and police.

Governor Shumlin might be best known for his support of a single-payer government health care plan that would make sure all Vermonters have access to affordable health care. It is a lofty goal, and the Legislature has passed a law to move in that direction. But that next step is dependent on federal funds that are most likely dependent on the re-election of President Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shumlin’s challengers both say they are not convinced it’s the way to go, or maybe not exactly as proposed.

Ms. Smith said she is in favor of single-payer, but believes the state must get a handle on costs and offer choices to patients.

“I would like us to move much more toward consumer-driven health care,” said Mr. Brock. He said there are steps that can be taken right away to address many of the concerns Vermonters have about health care, including making the costs of every procedure transparent. At a gut level, he believes competition would drive the costs down and increase the quality better than a government plan would do.

Health care is one-sixth of Vermont’s economy at $5-billion, he said, and a board of five unelected people should not be the ones making all the decisions. He’d like to look at what some other states are doing, including Maine, he said.

“Is there a reason that 49 other states are not doing what we are doing?” he asked.

Emily Peyton, who is running for Governor as an independent, made a campaign swing through Barton, but efforts to arrange a time for an interview were not successful. Ms. Peyton is from Putney. She has a background in videography and supports organics, industrial hemp, and holistic health. Cris Ericson is a candidate under the United States Marijuana Party in Vermont. Dave Eagle is the Liberty Union Party candidate and calls himself an information technology refugee.

Annette Smith wants a recount in the Progressive Primary race for Governor. Secretary of State Jim Condos has certified the result in the race, so in order to ask for a recount, she must file a petition in Washington County Superior Court.

The margin was a tiny bit larger than 2 percent, which means Ms. Smith is not necessarily entitled to a recount. A judge would need to decide.

Mr. Condos mentioned that there is a time crunch to consider. Overseas ballots must be ready to go to people in the military by September 21.

“We’ve got about 11 days,” he said — to create 275-plus General Election ballots, get them proofread and printed.

Results certified by the Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday show Martha Abbott winning the nomination with 371 votes. Ms. Smith’s write-in votes were tallied at 354. Officials said a total of 382 write-in votes were cast in the Primary race for Governor.

Mr. Condos said if the gap had been 15 votes or less, the recount would be allowed. But the gap was 17.

Ms. Smith, who is the executive director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment, said Tuesday the instructions on the ballots were incorrect. Ballot instructions say in order to write in a candidate, the voter must not only write a person’s name, but also color in the oval beside the name. Ms. Smith said clerks had the same instructions, and that means votes that were clearly intended for her might have been missed in the counting on Primary Election night.

Mr. Condos said it’s not a problem. Town clerks are clear that the voter’s intention is what matters, whether or not they marked the oval.

But Ms. Smith said that she knows of one voter who thought the count for her town was incorrect, because she had voted for Ms. Smith and knew of six others who had, yet only four votes showed up on the official tally. Ms. Smith said after that voter called that clerk (whom Ms. Smith did not want to name) the clerk went back and checked and said the voter was correct and there were actually seven votes.

Under Vermont law, Ms. Smith or a voter who has some evidence that his or her vote was not counted can petition the court. If a recount is called, the ballots would be brought to each county’s court for recounting.

Ms. Smith said Tuesday she is a reluctant candidate for Governor.

“I was not involved in the discussions,” she said, speaking of initial discussions by various groups to put up the name of a protest candidate.

She said her understanding is that a number of people who are extremely frustrated with Governor Peter Shumlin decided to find a protest candidate. She said they originally considered running someone in the Democratic Primary but decided a small number could make a bigger difference in the Progressive Party.

“I don’t think I was the top choice,” Ms. Smith said, but the group’s top choice declined to have his or her name tossed into the ring.

Ms. Smith definitely shares the group’s frustration, though, saying Governor Shumlin has been in office for two years and refuses to debate the issues of industrial wind with her.

“So now it looks like I have to own the label” (of candidate) she said. She said she believes that part of what inspired people to get votes out for her was the fact the Progressive Party is not challenging the Governor on many of the issues they care about.

“They’ve abdicated,” she said about the Progressives. “That’s what inspired people even more.”

“Our strategy is really to get the Democrats to keep their promises,” Ms. Abbott said Tuesday.

She announced Tuesday that although she won the nomination, she is turning it down.

Ms. Abbott is the chairman of the Progressive Party. She said health care and closing Vermont Yankee are the Progressives’ two key issues, and the Progressives agree with Governor Peter Shumlin on those two points.

“It’s not an endorsement. We’re just staying out of the race,” she said.

Tuesday she said the party plans to concentrate on other statewide and local races where Progressive candidates are running.

She said the Progressives disagree with Governor Shumlin on a number of issues and will “continue to be a thorn in his side.”

Some of the issues the Progressives disagree with him on, according to a press release, include “tax policy, labor issues, issues of sustainable economic development, agriculture, buying Vermont first, the F-35s, starting a state bank, and private for-profit development of Vermont’s resources for energy production.”

Ms. Abbott added that she wished the race had shaped up earlier and could have been a real race.

“I heard about it two weeks before the election,” she said. “I think it’s exciting when people get engaged politically, and we could have a race. We would love to have more people participating in our party.”